Certain medical procedures require the ability for health care personnel to engage and hold a medical device in place. For example, intubation such as endotracheal intubation, intubation with a transoral laryngeal mask, or nasopharyngeal intubation are all common procedures that require securely fastening a medical device into position.
A common problem associated with tubing is that it can be difficult to keep in place when connected to the patient or otherwise used during a procedure. Proper positioning of tubing is often important, and inadvertent dislodgment can be hazardous or even life-threatening (e.g. inadvertent dislodgement of an endotracheal tube).
Attempts have been made to address the above problem. The conventional technique used to fasten medical devices to patients involves the use of adhesive taping or bandages. This approach has its own shortcomings. Therefore, in the region of the head and neck, tubing is sometimes secured by placing a suture through the oral buccal sulcus mucosa/submucosa and then wrapping it around and tieing it to the perioral tube. In other instances, a circumdental wire is first passed around a tooth, then wrapped around the tube and twisted snugly. Alternatively, another method involves the use of straps, with or without a fastening cuff, that encircle the head or neck of the patient and attach to a tube.
Other medical procedures require the jaw and/or teeth to be generally held in place, e.g., bringing the maxillary and mandibular dentition into approximation either firmly for fracture repair procedures, or more loosely when trying to prevent mandibular retrusion leading to certain forms of sleep apnea. The present approach to placing the maxillary and mandibular dentition into firm occlusal position for surgical indications is with the use of dental arch bars and circumdental wires, or with the use of bone-anchored screws with wires or elastic bands. For individuals with sleep apnea arising from mandibular retrusion, the use of customized or non-customized tooth-borne splints, or the use of continuous positive airway pressure mask/pump are treatment options.
However, these and other attempted solutions have cost and morbidity implications, and risks of discomfort and injury to the patient and health care worker.